10 Shootout Officers Are ‘Top Cops’

WASHINGTON —  Praised by President Clinton as “true American heroes,” 10 Los Angeles police officers who braved the North Hollywood bank shootout in early 1997 were among 34 recipients of a national “Top Cops” award at a White House ceremony Friday.

The award, sponsored by the National Assn. of Police Organizations, is given to law enforcement officers who have provided exceptional service to their communities. As the officers gathered in the White House Rose Garden and family members waved to them from the audience, Clinton said, “We honor here today . . . both the heroism and the humanity that reflects the best of good professional law enforcement.”

The 10 LAPD officers were key participants in the prolonged gun battle between police and two men after a botched robbery at a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood on Feb. 28, 1997. The robbers, armed with semiautomatic assault rifles and wearing full body armor, fired more than 1,100 rounds as they battled police.

Twelve officers and eight civilians were wounded, and the two robbers--Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips Jr.--were killed by gunfire.

“The story of the officers from North Hollywood--because of the volume of fire that was involved in their incident--[has] been told beyond the borders of their state,” Clinton noted.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, who also was on hand to pay tribute to the officers, described the North Hollywood incident as “the most violent shootout in modern American history.”

After the ceremony, LAPD Officer Richard Zielinski said, “For us to be singled out . . . this is incredible.”

Officer John Caprarelli agreed: “It was pretty thrilling. I’m sure it’ll sink in later on.”

Also honored were LAPD Sgt. Steven Gomez, Dets. Vincent Bancroft Jr. and Kevin A. Harley and Officers Don Anderson, Edward Brentlinger, Richard Massa, Dean Schram and Conrado Torrez.

In the aftermath of the shootout, controversy surrounded actions by other officers at the scene. They have been accused by Matasareanu’s mother of allowing her son to bleed to death instead of calling for medical assistance. A lawsuit has been filed against the LAPD and Fire Department officials on behalf of Matasareanu’s children.

Police officials have said the officers had not completed a search of the area for additional accomplices in the robbery and feared possible booby traps or grenades on Matasareanu’s person.